Press Release – HONOLULU, HI. (January 18, 2012) – Miller Lite takes ‘Center Cage’ Saturday, January 21 when ProElite MMA (PK:PELE) Presents “DA SPYDER VS. MINOWAMAN” at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.
“The Miller Lite flagship brand extends our sponsorship and advertising relationship with MillerCoors and Paradise Beverage in Hawaii,” said Paul Feller, Chairman of ProElite and CEO of Stratus Media Group. “Coors Light sponsored our initial Honolulu fight in August, and we’re pleased that the Miller Lite brand takes our center mat cage placement for Saturday’s event. The MillerCoors relationship in Hawaii reinforces the connection we have with the dynamic MMA fan base we have built on the Islands.”
Saturday’s ProElite main fight card will be televised live on HDNet at 10:00 P.M. EST. Tickets are on sale at the Neal Blaisdell Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), www.ticketmaster.com, and www.proelite.com.
The fight’s main event features the rugged Hawiian Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove (13-9) taking on the long-awaited North American debut of Japanese and international fan favorite Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa (51-32-8). The co-main event features Olympic silver medalist and #9 world-ranked Sara McMann (4-0) against #5 ranked Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (18-8), also from Japan. The card underscores the recently announced promotional partnership and fighter exchange with ProElite and DREAM, Japan’s largest MMA fight organization.
The semi-finals of ProElite’s Heavyweight Grand Prix will also be contested at the Honolulu event. The first match pits hard-nosed Ryan Martinez (6-1) against headhunter Cody Griffin (5-2), while the second match sees heavy hitting Jake “The Honey Bear” Heun (2-1) take on 6-foot-5, Richard “The Black Eagle” Odoms (6-0). The winners of the respective bouts will square off in early Spring to determine the ProElite Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion